Ralph Goodale

[Employment Insurance, March 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the existing EI eligibility rules were devised for an economy enjoying the best economic growth since World War II. Those times have sadly passed. The nation has plunged into recession and the EI rules designed for boom times no longer fit.

Is it really the Conservative position that a worsening recession, destroying more and more jobs, is actually a good thing because that means more people will eventually become eligible for EI under the now outdated formula? Does the minister now recognize how cruel and ruthless that is?

[Employment Insurance, March 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, since last fall, when the Prime Minister said that there would be no recession, that the stock market was a good buy and that the government would not run a deficit, 300,000 Canadians have lost their jobs and another half a million are at risk.

Employment insurance claims have shot up but still tens of thousands of jobless Canadians do not have access to EI, even though they paid the premiums. The issue is eligibility.

Will the Conservatives change the rules to make EI benefits accessible now to those thousands who are already innocent victims of this recession?

[Committees of the House, March 26th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Justice may not have been aware of discussions among House leaders. Pursuant to those discussions among House leaders earlier this week, I wonder if there would be unanimous consent in the House that we would agree that by the end of the day today we will send Bill C-14 to committee.

[The Economy, March 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will find cold comfort in that answer by the minister.

Under the Conservatives, the jobless rate in Canada has skyrocketed to 7.7%. Sadly, that is in line with the painful forecasts of all the independent analysts: the IMF, the OECD, Global Insight and the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The Toronto Dominion Bank says that half a million more jobs will be lost this year. Unemployment will rise to double digits, and that is after taking all the stimulus plans into account.

What do the Conservatives have to say to thousands of people who have no chance of finding a job when the government remains in--

[The Economy, March 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives will not build hope based on falsehoods and fiction.

The job creation target that the Conservatives announced in January has disappeared. They specifically promised 190,000 jobs. Instead, 83,000 Canadians lost their jobs in February, on top of 129,000 in January. The Conservative job loss rate in Canada is now twice as bad as in the United States.

Does the government even have a job creation target anymore? Does it stand by its promise of 190,000 jobs?

[The Economy, March 13th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, another 83,000 Canadians lost their jobs in February. The number is staggering.

Since the election last fall, when the Prime Minister assured Canadians that a recession was unlikely, that there were good buying opportunities on the stock market and that his government would never run a deficit, the economy, on his watch, has tanked. In total, 295,000 Canadian jobs have evaporated.

He claims that he anticipated all of this. If that is true, why have his policies so badly failed thousands upon thousands of Canadian families?

[Business of the House, March 12th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I have the usual Thursday question about House procedure for the next couple of weeks. We all know that next week is scheduled to be a week to work in constituencies.

Therefore, I would like to ask the government House leader specifically what he has in mind for tomorrow and then the week following the constituency work week. Specifically in that week, which day will he officially designate as the final allotted day in this supply period? That would be the day not just to deal with an opposition motion, but also the supplementary estimates and the appropriations act, dealing with interim supply. It is very important for the House to know in advance which day that will be.

Second, I would ask the hon. gentleman, again, if there would be a mood in the House, apropos some of the subjects dealt with in question period, to move expeditiously on Bills C-14 and C-15. It was over a week ago that the official opposition offered co-operation to expedite those two pieces of legislation dealing with gangs and drugs. We renew that offer today in order to move those items forward quickly.

Finally, with respect to Bill C-10, which is in the other place, as we understand the developments as of today, it is possible that the other place will today finish its deliberations with respect to the bill, at the initiative of the Leader of the Opposition. I would ask the government House leader if he could indicate when there will be royal assent arranged for Bill C-10. Would he expect that to happen tonight or tomorrow?

[Government Spending, March 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the details are not in the budget. The Prime Minister seems to be making the shocking confession that he cannot walk and chew gum at the same time, and that position should be ludicrous. He says he can either quickly fight the recession or he can be accountable for his spending, but somehow he cannot do both. That is utter nonsense. The two are not mutually exclusive, especially with more than three weeks to go before any of that spending would actually begin.

Why will the Prime Minister not tell us accurately what the money is for?

[Government Spending, March 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the government says it will introduce a new law later this month to give itself a $3 billion blank cheque for spending after April 1.

Now, let us be clear. The Conservatives are not proposing to use any of that money before April 1, only afterward. They have not even introduced the legislation yet, so no stimulus has been delayed in this Parliament by Liberals. None.

Why can the government not find a few minutes any time in the next three weeks before April 1 to tell Canadians which stimulus programs will be financed with this unprecedented blank cheque?

[Government Spending, March 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the government must help all Canadians, from Chicoutimi forestry workers and Windsor auto workers to Saskatchewan beef producers, get through this recession now.

That is why we passed the budget so quickly, even though it is not perfect. Canadians want the government to invest money quickly, and they want to be informed.

Why can the Conservatives not do both at the same time?